06 March 2024 , 22:16
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Fern Britton says she will quit the Celebrity Big Brother house if Phillip Schofield walks in.
The 66-year-old presenting icon is one of the twelve celebrities taking part in the 23rd season of Celebrity Big Brother - which kicked off on ITV1 on Monday night. The TV star is most famous for being a This Morning presenter from 1999 until 2009 - and during the final seven of those years, she co-hosted the show with disgraced presenter Phillip Schofield, 61.
Fern and Phil’s professional friendship ended on bitter term - with Fern quitting This Morning amid rumours they had argued over difference in payments and reports suggesting Fern discovered Phil was earning a higher fee than she was. Fern and Phil have long made comments about each other through the media - with it unclear how close they are.
But now Fern has made it abundantly clear she cannot stand to be around her former co-star - and she vowed to walk out of the Big Brother house never to return if Phil was unveiled as a surprise late entrant to the current season of the show. She made her blunt declaration during a candid chat with Gary Goldsmith - the 58-year-old uncle of Catherine, Princess of Wales, 42.
Fern Britton said she will quit Celebrity Big Brother if Phillip Schofield enters the house (ITV)The pair were discussing Fern’s time on This Morning - and the recent spectacular implosion of Phil’s career. Phil quit This Morning in May last year as reports of backstage arguments with Holly Willoughby, 42, began to overshadow the show. He quit in the hopes his exit would allow the show to carry on without more troubles - but then days later announced he was quitting working with ITV altogether as he admitted he had lied about an extramarital affair he had with a This Morning crew member.
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Gary asked Fern if she knew any details of the scandal. Fern responded: “Genuinely I haven’t been there for 15 years. I got off the train and its way over the horizon so I honestly don’t know. Anything I do say would be supposition.”
He then pressed Fern on what it had been like working on the show and with Phil. She replied: “It was tricky at times. It is an institution that like the monarchy it rocks. I think Ben and Cat will do a great job. It’s a new era.”
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Gary then declared: “There were rumours that Phil was coming in here.” Fern looked alarmed by the idea and said: “Oh, well. That didn’t happen yet. Maybe that will happen as a surprise? I might have to leave at that point!”
Viewers were delighted by Fern's honest reaction. One fan wrote on X: "Fern's reaction to Phil if he ever came into the Big Brother House was Gold! She is giving us what we want. #CBBUK." Another typed: "Well, we all know Fern & Phil had fallen out, and it looks like from the talk to Uncle Gary, Fern doesn't want to hear or see Phil."
Another viewer wrote: "Not Fern saying she would leave if Phil came in" alongside a string of crying-with-laughter emojis. Another wrote: "Well, fair to say Fern doesn’t talk to Phil is she would leave if he came in." And a further fan wrote: "So the 2024 Phil and Fern reunion is off the cards then. #CBBUK."